Weaving Beautiful Asia: October 2011

The rice patties around our house have all been harvested and with that seems to come the changing of the seasons. Finally, it is not so hot and humid everyday and red, orange and yellow leaves sprinkle the sidewalks in Yamadaike Koen (park). Autumn also includes the National Holiday of Sports Day, which for me means another three day weekend. This holiday is held on the second Monday of October in commemoration of the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics and is set as a reminder of the importance of healthy and active lifestyles. Basically, the Sports Festival is the equivalent to an American Field Day, with some differences. The children have been practicing for weeks and months on the events, most of which are relays and races. The highlight though, is the marching band. These particular kids have been practicing for months and months and will also perform at Kansai Gaidai, the local international university. They are spectacular in their little uniforms with their big 'ole drums and so precise. All parents show up for the events held on either Saturday or Sunday and participate by either acting as volunteers in setting up and organizing or actually running in the races with their kids. I have had several three day weekends since being back at school for holidays including 'Respect Your Elders Day', Autumn Equinox and the Sports Festival. I was recently told about Hinamatsuri; a festival of dolls or 'girl's day' in March. I'm looking forward to that one!

My leg is pretty much back to full working order. I have been walking in the park nearly every single day, but have yet to work back up to a run for fear of doing more damage. Also, sitting in bed for nearly a month has me severely out of shape. My first day out after the attack was an afternoon and evening spent in the Minami district of Osaka with our friend Shinobu and her little boy Rantaro. She showed us a new stretch of streets we had yet to see.

First we saw Nipponbashi aka Den-Den Town which is Osaka's main electronics, comics, and anime district. It is the second largest district of this type after Tokyo's Akihabara. The streets are lined end to end with stores packed to the gills with these items. This obviously is a big draw for the "Otaku" which is the Japanese name for people who obsess over these types of things. Lining the streets were girls dressed up as their favorite characters, pop-stars and French maids. Yes, you read that right, French Maids. These girls are enticing you to patronize their "Maid Cafes" which are places where socially awkward men can pay to live out a fantasy of having a cute girl as their flirty servant who will do nearly whatever is asked of them, including hand feeding, massages and such.

Next was Sennichimae Doguya-Suji aka heaven, a shopping arcade lined with shop after shop filled with every type of utensil and kitchen item imaginable, you could literally buy everything needed to start a restaurant that specializes in any type of cuisine there. After I learn to make takoyaki (octopus balls) I plan to purchase one of the specially shaped pans for making them here.

After our window shopping extravaganza we headed to a quaint little Mexican restaurant filled with all the other gaijin of Osaka. Man, was it delicious. We were a little worried at first, since the salsa they gave us for the chips as an appetizer left a lot to be desired, but our entrees were amazing, better than pretty much any Mexican food in Boulder.

It was amazing getting a tour of Osaka from a local who was able to take us places we had not been, and could answer our questions and explain the culture. For example, she explained to us that the high pitched voices the women in Den-Den Town were using was a mimic of anime characters. Plus, she and 2-year-old Rantaro are just great fun to be around.

Yesterday we again headed to Umeda for a few hours before another Nowhere show. We had lunch at a delicious Korean restaurant inside Daimaru Department Store. Highlight of this weeks Osaka visit was the Water Clock Monument on the outside of the building. This is a clock designed from water dripping down the face of the building. Check it out! After gorging ourselves on Korean food and the crazy shopping experiences that are Japanese department stores we spent the evening at the Halloween themed Nowhere show, always a grand time.

Along with all this, last weekend we had our first private Japanese lesson with Masayo, a woman who came highly recommended to us through Janel and Kevin. We met with her again this morning and are really feeling positive that are Japanese is going to improve, and come into existence, tenfold with her help. We absolutely love her.

I must also note that I have become much more comfortable in the classroom. I was asked to include more cultural lessons in my classes though, so have been racking my brain for ideas of all things American or Western. A couple of mother's classes have been added to my schedule, which are always fun. They are mothers of the children that go to the schools and just enjoy practicing their English by chit chatting for an hour. In the next few weeks we will be talking about how to throw Halloween parties! Because it is a brand new holiday to Japan there is much to be taught. We did, however, find an all dog costume shop in Shinsaibashi so I think they are catching on...